To Go Home Again
by Michelle Richard
Summary: Kadence left home in disgrace and did everything she could to put it behind her. What happens when her past wants back into her life? Can Dave Batista help her decide what to do or will he end up hurting her when he learns the truth? Dave Batista X OC
1. Chapter 1

Kadence Edwards struggled to open the door to her hotel room, while fighting back tears. Finally she was able to get the door opened and she sank to the floor bursting into tears. She had known when she received the call to become Raw's newest diva that it would be difficult but never in her worst nightmares had she imagined it would be this bad. She had been with the WWE for 6 years and it wasn't like they were mean to her, actually they weren't anything to her. It was almost as if she didn't exist. Sure she worked out with some of the divas but she never hung out with anyone outside of work. Most of the WWE superstars didn't even know her name. Almost all of them called her Katie or some variation of that and coming from a close knit family, this was really hard for her. She missed having someone to talk to and this is what she cried for. After having a good cry, Kadence got up off the floor and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. Making the decision to not let anything get in the way of her dream to be the most dominate diva in the WWE, Kadence changed into her workout clothes to go running. She grabbed her iPod off the bed and headed out the door.

Since the day was so nice out Kadence decided to run outside. She knew it would help clear her head better anyways. She headed across the hotel lobby towards the front door. As she walked across the lobby, she started messing with her iPod and didn't pay attention to were she was walking. All of a sudden she ran into someone and lost her balance. As she started to fall, Kadence felt someone grab her.

"Whoa. Careful there. We wouldn't want anything to happen to such a pretty lady, now would we? An amused voice said.

Glancing up, Kadence groaned inwardly as she realized that she had run into Dave Batista, the World Heavyweight Champion. "I'm so sorry." Kadence stuttered, blushing as she quickly moved away from Batista and out the front door. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _Kadence chanted to herself as she ran. _I can't believe I ran into Batista! He probably thinks I am the world's biggest klutz. Way to go Kadence!_

Soon all thoughts of Dave and the last six years fled from her mind as she lost herself in her running.

--

Dave watched in amusement as the petite brunette moved away from him and out the front door. "If I didn't know better I would think she was running away from me." He muttered under his breath as he moved towards the front desk to check in. As he approached he ran into Jeff and Matt Hardy.

"I see you made the acquaintance of our newest diva." Jeff said in greeting.

"I guess." Dave said smiling. "Not very chatty is she? So what can you tell me about her?"

Jeff paused for a moment before answering. "You know I can't tell you much of anything. All I know is what I see at work. Her name is Kadence Edwards. She's been with us for 6 years. She works hard and stays pretty much to herself. I have heard rumors that they may be giving her a title run. She seems nice enough. And that pretty much sums up everything I know about her." Jeff finished with a shrug. When Dave looked questioningly at Matt, he agreed with what his brother said.

Dave finished checking in and grabbed his key. "Want to get something to eat?" He asked the brothers. They answered to the affirmative and Dave asked one of the bell boys to take his bag to his room, slipping him a $20. After making sure his bags woiuld reach his room safely, Dave ant the Hardy brothers headed to the hotel restaurant and got a table that had a clear view of the hotel lobby. While they were eating Dave noticed Kadence reappear. He watched as she stopped and talked to a man before looking around and leading him out of the lobby.

"Know who the guy is?" Matt asked when he noticed who Dave was watching.

"Nope but he looks familiar. You recognize him?" Dave answered without taking his eyes off Kadence as she made her way to the stairwell. Both Matt and Jeff glanced at the guy before shaking their heads no.

"He does look familiar, maybe he's a fan." Matt said as they paid their check and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Kadence walked into the lobby after her run and stopped short. "What are you doing here, Dillon?" She furiously hissed to the man who was waiting for her in the lobby.

"I need to talk to you Kadence. Please don't walk away!" Dillon begged close to tears.

"Okay." Kadence sighed glancing around. "Come with me. We can go to my room." Kadence lead Dillon out of the lobby and up the stairs to her room.

"I see you still take the stairs instead of the elevator." Dillon commented as they approached Kadence's door.

"Helps keep me in shape." Kadence replied, letting them in the door. "What's going on? Why are you here? You know Dad will be pissed if he finds out you had any contact with me."

"I know but I needed to see you. I still don't think it is fair that he disowned you just because you chose to take a different path. Plus I missed my big sister." Dillon said as he flopped down on the bed staring up at his twin sister who was older than him by six minutes.

"Why are you really here? I know that you didn't come here with the possibility of getting disowned yourself just because you missed me."

"It's mom. The cancer is back and they think she only has about a month left to live. She's asking to see you." Dillon answered sitting up.

"The cancer's back?" Kadence echoed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Is she going to do treatment again?"

"No, she is refusing to do chemo again. She says that it will only extend her misery, plus she wants to remember her last days. Please say you will come see her." Dillon got off the bed and hugged his sister as she cried.

"How am I going to get to see her? You know that dad isn't going to let me come anywhere near her." Kadence cried as she clung to her twin brother.

"Dad is actually out of the country right now so Mom decided to take action and made Sara and I bring her here. They are waiting in a hotel across town with the hope that you will agree to see her."

"Of course I will see her! I wasn't the one that walked away. You guys have always known where I was and how to get in touch with me." Kadence said furiously.

"I know." Dillon said gently. "This whole ordeal has been hard on all of us. I probably should have tried harder to get in contact with you."

"No." Kadence said sadly. "It's bad enough that I got disowned, you don't need to go through that too. You have Sara to think about also. Congrats on your marriage by the way. I wish I could have been there."

"I do too." Dillon said. "Sara tried to convince dad that you had been to be there since you were suppose to be her maid of honor but he wouldn't budge."

"Let me shower and change, then we can be on our way to see mom. I have the weekend off since we are having a super show on Monday." Kadence smiled over her shoulder as she headed into the bathroom. "It's really great to see you Dil. I've really missed you."

Forty-five minutes later Kadence was ready to go and they headed down to the lobby. When they reached the lobby, Kadence heard someone call her name and saw Vince McMahon coming towards her.

"Kadence, I just wanted to let you know that everyone in the WWE thinks you are doing a terrific job. The creative department has decided to give you a storyline that will include a feud for the Women's Championship. I will have one of the messengers bring over a copy of the script tomorrow morning. Make sure to review it carefully and let us know if anything needs to be changed before we finalize it Sunday night. That gives you a little over a day to review it. Congratulations on this opportunity. You have earned it." Vince finished his speech, shook Kadence's hand, and walked away.

Kadence stood were Vince left her with a shocked expression on her face. She couldn't believe they were giving her a title shot. The last she had heard, Torrie was going to be getting a run at the title. _This isn't going to make things easier for me in the locker room._ Kadence mentally sighed and shook her head.

"Wow!" Dillon exclaimed. "I knew you were doing well but I never dreamed that they would give you a title shot so soon."

"I know. Wait. What do you mean you knew I was doing well? Have you been watching me?" Kadence teased her brother.

Dillon blushed and replied, "Maybe. At least in my own house I am still the boss. Sara and I watch every Monday night. We are really proud of you Kady." Kadence laughed and slipped her arm around her brother as they headed out the door, not knowing the she was being watched.

Once Dave got back to his room after eating, he decided to work out before it got too late. He knew that some of the superstars were planning on going to a club that night and he wanted to have time to get ready. He quickly changed into his work out clothes and headed down to the hotel's weight room. Once he got there he noticed that some of the divas were working out also.

"Ladies." Dave greeted as he moved to one of the weight benches. He swiftly settled into a rhythm and started to eavesdrop on the divas.

"I heard you'll be defending you title soon." Torrie said as she and Ashley too turns on one of the machines.

"Yeah that's what I heard too." Ashley let the weight bar fall back into place before shrugging. "I think it'll be against the new girl."

"I think it will be good for her. She has real talent and the crowds seem to love her. I think she could go far as the Women's Champion." Melina commented as she moved to take Ashley's place.

"It's about time we get the belt back on Raw." Mickie James joined in from the treadmills.

"Hey! Let's not go giving away my title yet! Wait until the creative department sends down the final verdict. Maybe we are going to get a feud out of this." Ashley said good-naturedly. Even though she loved being the Women's Champion, she knew that eventually she would lose the title and if the powers that be decide it would be to the new girl she was more than happy to do that. She had watched Kadence's career and knew she could help boost the women's department.

"Moving on to a new subject, you will never believe who I saw in the lobby earlier today." Torrie paused for effect. "Dillon Blankenbiller." She announced dramatically.

Instantly, Dave realized that was the guy with Kadence. _I wonder how she knows him. Maybe they're dating._ At that thought Dave felt a slight pang of disappointment. _Why the hell am I disappointed? I've never even met her. I've only seen her a couple of time. Come on Dave get a grip on yourself._ With those thoughts running through his head Dave finished up his work out and left while the divas continued to talk about Dillon Blankenbiller. As he entered the lobby he noticed Kadence with Dillon. He watched as Dillon made her laugh before they left the hotel together.


	3. Chapter 3

Kadence stared at the hotel room door with an overwhelming sense of trepidation. "Things are going to be okay, Kady." Dillon told his sister, noticing the worry on her face as he knocked on the door.

Instantly Sara answered the door and immediately pulled Kadence into a hug. Sara and Kadence clung to each other for a couple of minutes before a feeble voice called out, "Sara is that Kadence?" Kadence pulled away from Sara and made her way into the room.

"Mama?" She asked as she moved towards the bed trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Kadence! My darling girl! How I have missed you." Cheryl Blankenbiller struggled to sit up so she could see her daughter better.

"Mama, be careful!" Sara gently admonished as she moved to help her mother-in-law sit up.

"You must tell me all about these wrestlers you work with." Cheryl said after she was situated and had impatiently waved off Sara. "I especially want to know about Shawn Michaels and Triple H. They seem like fun guys."

"Mama!" Kadence exclaimed, shocked. "Have you been watching Raw?"

"Of course I have." Cheryl sniffed. You didn't think I was going to let my little girl go off and not follow her career, did you?"

"What does dad think about that?" Dillon asked as he and Sara made themselves comfortable on the couch facing the bed.

"We have a wonderful 'don't ask, don't tell' system in place. I 'go to bed' early every Monday night and watch Raw in our room, while he stays up to 'work' and he watches in his office." Cheryl explained to her children. Kadence started to tear up again as she realized that her parents actually cared enough to watched her.

"Now, no more tears." Cheryl gently wiped Kadence's face. "Tell me everything that has been going on in your life." Kadence spent the next several hours with her family as the laughed about the good time and cried over the sad times. When Kadence noticed her mom getting tired, she excused herself.

"I'm really proud of you Kadence." Cheryl told her daughter as she hugged her goodbye. "I will always love you, never doubt that."

"I love you too, Mama. Thanks for coming to see me." Kadence started for the door only to be stopped by her brother.

"I'll walk you out Kady." Dillon said after making sure his wife was okay with settling Cheryl in for the night.

Once they were in the hall, Dillon turned to Kadence. "Thanks for coming today, Kady. I know it meant a lot to her to see you again."

"I'm glad I got to spend time with her." Kadence quickly scribbled her cell number on a piece of paper and handed it to Dillon. "Make sure you stay in touch."

"I will." Dillon promised, taking the paper and placing it in his pocket. They continued to walk down to the lobby, each lost in their own thoughts. "I'll miss you Kady girl. Take care of yourself." Dillon whispered, hugging his sister.

"You be good little brother. Take care of Sara for me." Kadence returned her brother's hug before stepping into the waiting Town car. As the car pulled away, Kadence allowed the tears to fall that she had been holding back. She cried for the pain she knew her mother was in, the pain in her heart at not getting to see her family, and for the pain she knew her father must have felt when she had thrown everything he had given her in his face.

Arriving back at her hotel, Kadence hurried through the lobby and up the stairs to her room. Deciding that she didn't want to spend the night wallowing in memories, Kadence changed her clothes, grabbed her purse and headed back out the door.

Thankful that Dillon had insisted she use the Town car for the remainder of the time she was in town, Kadence placed a quick call to the driver as she headed to the lobby. Stopping by the front desk on her way out, Kadence asked if they could recommend some good nightclubs, knowing that she would prefer to lose herself in a crowd of people. With the name of what was supposed to be the 'best club in hundreds of miles', Kadence looked at her watch. Noticing that she had several hours before the club opened, she decided to go get something to eat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

Dave entered the crowded club and weaved his way to the bar. He noticed a bunch of superstars in the corner and made his way over to them after getting his drink.

"I heard that Raw is getting the Animal back." Jeff said in way of greeting.

"That's what they are telling me." Dave answered with a half smile. "I guess they liked my feud with Triple H." Pretty soon, Dave was involved in a lively discussion with the Hardy brothers.

Dave, who was facing the bar, was the first person to spot Kadence as she made her way towards the bar. He nudged Jeff and Matt, pointing her out. The three guys decided to invite her to join them so Matt and Jeff went to convince her.

"Kadence, darling, it's great to see someone with your beauty in a place like this." Matt drawled as they approached the lovely diva.

"Hey Matt, Jeff. What are you guys doing here?" Kadence picked up her drink from the bar, turning towards the brothers.

"Actually a bunch of us are here hanging out." Jeff motioned to the corner were the rest of the wrestlers were at. "You should come join us.

"I don't know." Kadence hesitated. She wasn't sure she wanted to deal with anyone from work right then. Before she could make up her mind, she noticed Dillon walk into the club. "Actually I see someone that I know but thanks for the offer." She said with relief before making her way to her brother's side.

"Ha! You struck out!" Matt laughed at his brother as they watched her walk away.

"I didn't see you helping out any." Jeff retorted. "Can you tell who the guy that she's with is?"

"His name is Dillon Blankenbiller." Dave replied coming up behind the brothers. "I guess he's some big shot."

"You haven't heard of the Blankenbiller's?" Jeff asked astonished. "They own a bunch of hotel, restaurants, and nightclubs. The family made big news about six years ago when the family patriarch disowned the daughter. Nobody knows why she was disowned and she dropped out of the media's eye several years back."

"You're worse than a female when it comes to gossip." Matt said to his brother causing Jeff to reach out and shove Matt. As the three superstars made their way back to the table, Matt turned towards Dave. "I heard that you're getting a romantic storyline soon."

"Yeah, I guess." Dave shrugged his shoulders. "Somehow it's going to tie in with the Triple H feud. I guess that DX is getting a new member, who's female and my 'girl' is going to feud with the DX girl. Any news on who the new member of DX is going to be? Matt and Dave turned towards Jeff expectantly.

"What? Now you want the scoop from me?" Jeff asked incredulously. "But since you did ask, I heard that Mickie James might be teaming up with them soon. I think that they want to make DX heel again. I guess that makes sense if Triple H is going to be chasing the title. No news on who your lady is supposed to be though, Dave. Sorry."

--

"What are you doing here?" Kadence approached her brother.

"It seems like you are asking me that a lot lately." Dillon teased. "Sara and I got mom settled in for the night and Sara wanted to watch some chick flick on TV, so I decided to see what you were up to. I figured I had a better spend as much time with you as I can since I don't know when I will get a chance to see you again. I hope you don't mind that I called the driver of your car to see where you were."

"Of course I don't mind. Anything to be able to spend time with my bro. We don't have to stay here you know. We can go somewhere else if you want." Kadence offered.

"I noticed that a lot of your co-workers are here. We can stay if you want to.

"No, that's okay." Kadence started to say but was too late as her brother headed in that direction. She hurried to catch up with him and tried to talk him out of meeting her co-workers but there was no changing his mind.

"I knew you couldn't resist us." Jeff teased as Dillon and Kadence approached. "Jeff Hardy." He introduced himself to Dillon.

"Dillon Blankenbiller." Dillon responded, shaking his hand.

"This is my brother, Matt and Dave Batista." Jeff finished introducing everyone around them. Dillon shook hands with them and was immediately drawn into a conversation with Jeff and Matt. Kadence sat back and watched her brother with a smile.

Kadence quickly realized that Dillon was going to be involved in the conversation for a long time. She leaned over to him and whispered, "I'm going to hit the dance floor for awhile." Dillon glanced back at her, smiled, and waved her off. Kadence made her way to the dance floor just as the DJ started playing the new Christina Aguilera song. It wasn't long before she had the attention of everyone on the dance floor as she moved gracefully to the music. Before long Kadence had several guys vying for her attention. She became slightly overwhelmed when some of the guys started to get violent. Before she could do anything about it, Dave was by her side.

"Thanks for keeping my girl company, but I'm here now so you can leave." Dave gave the guys a smile before turning to Kadence. "Shall we dance my dear?" Kadence took the hand he offered and allowed him to lead her to the middle of the dance floor. Kadence soon realized that Batista could dance really well and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of having a good dance partner again. They spent the remainder of the night on the dance floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

The next morning, Kadence went to the hotel her family was staying to have breakfast with them. After they finished eating, Kadence helped them load the car that would take them back to the airport. Deciding not to go with them, Kadence headed back to the hotel after seeing her family off amidst many tears and promises to stay in touch.

When Kadence arrived back at the hotel, a WWE messenger was waiting for her with a copy of the script. Heading up the stairs, Kadence started to look over the script. The first thing she noticed was that Dave would be re-joining the Raw family. She continued to flip through the script until she found her match. Shocked she stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared. She couldn't believe what she was reading. They actually wanted her to win the title on Monday night.

Since that would mean she would have to wrestle Ashley, Kadence felt slightly apprehensive. With Ashley being on Smackdown, they had never had the opportunity to eve practice together. Recovering enough to get to her room, Kadence sat on her bed to think. Even though none of the divas had been mean to Kadence when she had started, they hadn't gone out of their way to make her feel welcome either. As she considered what her options were, she continued to read through the script. She soon realized that her feud wasn't going to be with Ashley, but instead with Mickie James. That made her feel a little better because she had done a lot of work with Mickie and she knew that they could put on a really good show since their wrestling styles were similar.

Later that afternoon, Kadence headed down to the arena, where they had already set up the ring, in hopes of running into Ashley. Luck was on her side because when she walked into the arena Ashley was there with Dave and Triple H.

"Oh good you're here." Ashley walked up to Kadence. "I guess we're finally going to get into the ring together. I just want you to know I'm really excited to be able to work with you. You have an awesome presence in the ring."

"Thanks." Kadence said shyly. "Do you think we could work out together over the next couple of days to hammer out some of the kinks that could come up in the match?"

"I would really like that." Ashley and Kadence moved down to the arena, talking about different strategies they could use. Since they were both faces, at the end of the match Ashley was going to shake Kadence's hand and walk out of the arena, leaving Kadence to celebrate alone. At that time Mickie James was going to run down to the ring and attack Kadence.

Ashley and Kadence climbed into the ring and started to run through a couple basic moves. They quickly found a good rhythm and spent the rest of the afternoon working out. Towards the end, Mickie arrived and ran through some of the moves that she was going to use with Kadence. The three divas made their way to the back, where they agreed to meet again the next day to run through some new moves together. Ashley spotted her boyfriend, Matt, and after saying goodbye, ran off to join him.

"Do you have plans for tonight?" Mickie walked into the locker room to grab her bag.

"I think I'm going to rent movies and pig out on junk food." Kadence shrugged as she picked her bag up off the bench.

"Want any company? I realize we haven't really hung out, but since we are going to be working pretty close for awhile, I figured it would be good if we got a chance to get to know each other."

"Sure that would be awesome." Kadence left Mickie with a smile and a plan to meet in the lobby later that evening to go rent movies.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

The next couple of days went by quickly and soon all the WWE superstars headed to the arena for the super show. Kadence met up with Mickie and they walked over to the arena together. They had spent the last couple of days together and had become fast friends. They were both excited about the upcoming storyline since it would give them more time to hang out. Once they arrived at the arena, they found Ashley and the three of them discussed the match before each going their separate ways to prepare.

Kadence quickly settled in to wait for the show. Each superstar had their own way of coping with the wait time before each show. Some worked out, others would form poker tournaments, still others would gather in Matt and Jeff's locker room for an Xbox tournament, and then there were some that would go off by themselves to meditate, read, or just be alone. Normally Kadence would take a good book, find a comfortable chair and just chill until she had to get ready.

Kadence grabbed her book and iPod and was getting ready to leave the locker room, when someone knocked on the door. Since she was standing right next to the door, she pulled it open rather quickly.

"Waiting for me?" Dave smirked from the other side of the door.

Kadence laughed and shook her head no, holding up her book and iPod. "I was just on my way out the door."

As Kadence moved to walk out the door, Dave put his arm across the doorway so she couldn't get out. Cocking one eyebrow, she looked at him expectantly. "Are you going to let me leave?"

"Not just yet." Dave smirked down at her. "I was just wondering if you played poker at all." At Dave's words, Kadence was taken back to the many poker games that Dillon had hosted when their parents were out of town, most of which Kadence would join.

Smiling she answered, "I might play. Why do you need to know?"

"We're one person short for our game. I was wondering if you wanted to join us."

"How much is the buy in?"

"Twenty-five."

Kadence's eyebrows shot up. "Pretty steep, don't you think?"

"Steep?" A confused Dave asked. "We thought that twenty-five dollars was about right."

"Ah…twenty-five dollars." Kadence nodded in understanding, putting her book and iPod back in her bag.

"How much did you think I meant?" Dave and Kadence started down the hall to where the game was being held.

"Twenty-five grand." Kadence answered sheepishly.

"Twenty-five grand! I don't think anyone here has that kind of money to play poker with. Who have you been playing with?" Dave looked suspiciously at Kadence.

"That's why I thought it was too steep. So who all will be playing today?" Kadence neatly sidestepped the question about who she had been playing poker with.

"I know that the Hardy boys are in, they decided not to bring out the Xbox tonight, obviously me, now you, and most likely Triple H and Shawn Michaels. I think that Ashley is going to deal for us."

"Sounds like it should be a lot of fun." They arrived at the game and sat down to play. Pretty soon it became apparent that Kadence knew what she was doing. Kadence had learned long ago how to read people and it served her well during poker games. Only once had that ability failed her and most people would say it had ruined her life. Kadence quickly turned her thoughts away from the sad memories and back to the game. Before anyone realized it, they all needed to go get ready for the show and everyone left but not before commenting on how well Kadence played. They told her that any time she wanted to play; she was more than welcome at their table.

Kadence's match was one of the first ones, so upon reaching the locker room, she immediately changed and headed to hair and makeup. Once she was done there she headed to the gorilla pit to wait. Upon arrival, she found Mickie James and Ashley already waiting. The three divas started talking to try and help calm everyone's nervous. Soon they heard Ashley's music start and she went through the curtain to a huge standing ovation. She made her way down the ramp with the belt over her head. Since Ashley was normally on Smackdown she took a mic from one of the techs. Standing behind the curtain, Kadence and Mickie listened as Ashley ran through her lines pausing to let the crowd respond when appropriate. They heard her talk about how she had fought all the divas on Smackdown and there wasn't anyone that could touch her. Now she was here on Raw to see if any of the divas could stand up to her. She was issuing an open invitation to anyone in the back to try and take the belt from her.

That was Kadence's cue and she moved to her place right behind the curtain. There was short pause for effect before the opening strains to Rob Zombie's _Bring Her Down (To Crippletown)_ could be heard throughout the arena. The crowd erupted at the sound of their favorite diva's music. The music was almost drowned out by the cheering as Kadence made her way through the curtain. She did her normal pose at the top of the ramp before hurrying down the ramp to join Ashley in the ring. She slide into the ring and held out her hand for the mic. It took Kadence awhile before she could start her lines because the crowd wouldn't quiet down. Finally she was able to speak.

"You say that no other diva can touch you on Smackdown but you are on Raw now! Tonight I'm going to show you how it's done. That belt is mine!" Kadence threw the mic down before squaring off in the middle of the ring with Ashley. The ref called for the bell and the match got underway.

Kadence and Ashley quickly fell into a good rhythm due to their practices. The first part of the match was very fast paced, as both Kadence and Ashley hit some pretty risky moves, much to the delight of the crowd. Halfway through the match, the ref signaled that he had received a message from the back that he needed to share with the girls. Ashley immediately put Kadence in a hold and the ref leaned over, under the guise of checking on Kadence, to let her know that after she had won Mickie would be coming out with DX. They had decided to start the change from face to heel tonight for DX. Kadence signaled that she understood and broke the hold soon after, resuming the faster pace from before. Twenty minutes into the match the ref signaled for them to start the finishing sequence. Ashley hit her finish move and rolled Kadence up for the count. Just as the ref's hand came down for the three count, Kadence brought her shoulder up off the mat, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers. Ashley pretended to be upset, saying that she had pinned Kadence. This gave Kadence time to recover and come after Ashley. After another minute of going back and forth, Kadence hit her finishing move and rolled Ashley up for the three count. The crowd was deafening as Kadence was declared the winner. Ashley got up off the mat and stared at Kadence. The crowd immediately quieted down as they watched to see what would happen. After several seconds, Ashley walked over and offered her hand. Kadence shook her hand as the crown went wild. Ashley rolled out of the ring and headed up the ramp leaving Kadence to celebrate her win.

As soon as Ashley was backstage, Mickie came running down the ramp and into the ring. Mickie attacked Kadence from behind, knocking her down. Instead of leaving she looked back at the curtain and motioned for someone to some down to the ring, out ran DX. The crowd went crazy, thinking that DX was there to save the new women's champion. Instead Shawn Michaels picked Kadence up and held her, while Triple H proceeded to beat her up with Mickie cheering them on. All of a sudden Dave came running down the ramp to put a stop to the beating. The crowd was on their feet as the watched the Animal run off DX and Mickie before going over to check on Kadence. When he found her to hurt to walk on her own, he picked her up and carried her up the ramp, much to the joy of the crowd. Once they reached the back, Dave set down Kadence.

"Are you okay?" He asked, knowing that even though everything had been for show, some of the blow had to have stung a little bit.

"Yeah, I'm good. I've been through worse." Kadence winced as she started to walk towards her locker room. Even though everyone had done their best to be gentle, Kadence knew she was going to be bruised the next day.

Dave smiled to himself as she walked away. _At least now I know who I'll be partnered with. I wonder if she has any clue that we'll be working together._ He turned and walked towards his locker room, humming.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

The next morning, Kadence was woken up by someone pounding on her door. Rolling over to look at the clock, she groaned when she saw that it was only 7:30. Since her plane didn't leave until later that afternoon, she had planned on sleeping in.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." Kadence muttered as she stumbled to the door half awake.

"Here is your new travel schedule, the script for the upcoming house shows, and next Monday night, Ms. Edwards. If you could just sign here, I'll let you get back to bed." The messenger piled the papers into her arms before shoving a clipboard under her nose. A little rattled, Kadence juggled the papers in her arms so she could scrawl her signature on the sheet. After giving the messenger a weak smile, Kadence shut the door and stared, bewildered at the papers. Figuring she was already awake, she threw the papers on the bed to look at later and headed to the shower to get ready for the day.

Refreshed from her shower, Kadence grabbed her new travel schedule and looked it over. The only major change for this week was that she would be traveling with Dave. It looked like the majority of her promotional travels would start the next week. Confused on why she was traveling with the world heavy weight champion for the near future, she picked up the scripts and started leafing through them.

"Shit son!" Kadence exclaimed out loud as she realized that she would be pairing up with Dave for a feud between DX and Mickie James. She knew that this was a huge break for her and she started to feel excited.

Glancing at her watch, she noticed that she still had awhile before she had to be at the airport so she decided to go shopping. Picking up her suitcase that she had packed the night before, Kadence threw in a couple of last minute items before glancing around to make sure she hadn't left anything behind. On her way down to the lobby, Kadence placed a call to the driver that Dillon had left for her. Stopping by the front desk to check out, she ran into Mickie James.

"Hey girl! Congrats on the win last night." Mickie winked at Kadence as she finished her check out process. "You headed to the airport already?"

"Nah. I thought I would go shopping for awhile. You want to come with?" Kadence handed her key to the front desk attendant and waited for him to pull up the appropriate paperwork.

"Sure. Sounds like fun. I am always up for a shopping trip." Mickie waited for Kadence to finish her paperwork before the two girls moved towards the front door. "Do we need to call a cab?"

"No, I have a car waiting out front for us. This way we can leave our suitcases in the car." Kadence nodded towards the front were the Town car was already waiting for her.

"Sweet!" Mickie and Kadence climbed into the back of the car and started talking about different things as they headed towards the mall where they spent the morning shopping.

Several hours later Mickie and Kadence arrived at the airport. Since they would be part of the same feud, they would be traveling together so they quickly checked in and moved towards the terminal their plane would be leaving from. As they approached the terminal, they spotted Dave, Hunter, and Shawn in the back corner, closest to the boarding gate. The guys noticed them and waved them over.

While they were waiting for their plane to be called, everyone decided to play a game that allowed them to get to know each other better. Basically the game was a distorted version of truth and dare. One person would choose who they would ask the question to and that person would either have to answer the question or do a dare. Hunter decided he would be the first to ask a question.

"Shawn, which one of the divas is your favorite?"

"Hmm…" Shawn pretended to ponder the question for a long period of time before answering. "I would have to say the lovely Kadence Edwards is definitely my favorite." He winked at Kadence, who pretended to be all embarrassed. Shawn then turned to Dave, "What do you thing your chances of retaining the title are?" Shawn pretended to have a microphone which he pointed at Dave.

"I would have to say my chances are very good, especially when you consider who my competition is right now." Dave good-naturedly kidded Hunter who pretended to get up to give Dave a beat down. Dave stood up and made a 'come and get me' gesture. Everyone laughed as the guys sat back down.

"This question is for the lovely Mickie James." Mickie pretended to be flattered that Dave was asking her a question. "What do you see in Kenny anyways?" At the sound of her fiancé's name Mickie laughed.

"Well he happens to be a real man. Something you boys could only dream of." Mickie pretended to cower behind Kadence when the three guys acted like they were going to hurt her.

Mickie looked at Kadence with an evil look in her eye before asking her question. "If you could pick any one of the male superstars to date, which one would it be?"

"Well…since the only real man is already take…" Mickie laughed at that statement. "…I guess I would have to go with…" Before Kadence could finish her statement, both Shawn and Hunter started motioning for her to pick them. "…Dave Batista since he is the only gentleman."

"Damn gentlemen. They get us every time." Shawn muttered to Hunter causing everyone to laugh. The game continued with a lot of laughter and a mixture of fun natured and series questions.

Hunter had just gotten done answering a question for Shawn when he turned to Kadence. "I just realized we know absolutely nothing about your family." At his words, Kadence felt her blood drain from her face. Hoping that no one had noticed, Kadence quickly slipped on her 'society smile' waiting with dread for the question. Before Hunter could ask the question, their flight was called and Kadence felt a surge of relief.

The superstars quickly gathered up their belongings and moved towards the boarding gate. Kadence would be sitting with Dave while Mickie would be sitting Hunter and Shawn. Once they were settled into their seats Kadence closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

--

The days started to take on a certain routine. The fiver wrestlers quickly became great friends as they traveled and worked together. Dave and Kadence formed a very close and comfortable friendship, spending most of their time together, whether is was in training, hanging out before a show, or hanging with a bunch of friends.

As time went on Dave realized that he was starting to fall for the petite, blue-eyed brunette but she seemed to be oblivious to the signs. He started to wonder if someone in her past had hurt her real bad or if she was possible involved with a married man. He noticed that she never talked about her past; come to think of it she never talked about her personal life at all. He knew pretty much everything that made Kadence who she was but he had no idea who her family was or why they were never around. If anyone tried to ask her a question about her family, she would quickly change the subject. If they ever had a break from traveling, Kadence would either go to his house or Mickie James's place.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

Two months before Survivor Series, Vince called Kadence and Mickie James into his office.

"Everyone really likes the way that you guys have handled this feud. Several of the writers would like to bring your feud to a new level, and they believe that a steel cage match could do that." Vince closed the door behind them and moved to sit behind his desk. "I don't want to put any wrestler in danger, so I need to know if you are comfortable with this. You guys won't get a lot of practice with the cage but we will try to give you a couple of different opportunities to actually work in the cage. I know that they are planning a pretty dangerous move for the finish. I want both of you to look over what they have written, talk it over with each other, and let me know if you think this is something the two of you can sell." Kadence and Mickie looked at each other and nodded as Vince handed them the script for the cage match. Vince thanked them both for their hard work before letting them out of his office.

"Wow, this is pretty intense." Mickie commented as she looked through the script. "Holy cow! Check out the finish! I'm not sure we can pull this off!"

Kadence, who had been looking through the script slowly, glanced at Mickie before skipping to the end. "Shit son! That move will require a lot of practice. If either one of use messes up, I could die!"

"So what do you think? You want to give it a shot?" Mickie looked at Kadence, waiting for her response.

"I'm not sure. That last move really has me worried. You think we can pull it off safely?" Kadence was hesitant because the move would be the most dangerous to her. The move had her climbing to the top of the cage where she would have to balance for a couple of minutes, performing several tricky moves to keep Mickie from pulling her back into the cage or reaching the top, before climbing down the outside of the cage to win the match. If either girl was not extremely careful the move could go horribly wrong causing Kadence to fall 15 feet to the cement floor outside the cage.

"I think that it'll take a lot of work but I believe we can pull this off. Besides I know that you have excellent balance." Mickie winked at Kadence causing her to laugh.

"Okay, if you think we can do this, I'll trust you with my life." Kadence and Mickie linked arms and walked out of the office building, leaving a message with Vince's secretary stating that they would be more than happy to do the steel cage match. They headed to the gym to start working on some of the moves for the match.

--

The next day, Kadence and Dave were getting ready to go to the arena for Monday Night Raw. As usual they met in Dave's room to look over the script. Since their plane was leaving a couple of hours after the show, they decided to go directly to the airport from the arena.

"It looks like we are going to be having quite a few steel cage matches in the upcoming weeks. Dave commented as he looked through the extended script outline that showed what feuds were going on and where the writers would like them to go, barring any unfortunate accidents.

"Really?" Kadence leaned over his shoulder to read the outline. Dave immediately stiffened when Kadence touched him but as usual, Kadence didn't even notice. "That must be because Mickie and I need to use the cage to practice.

"Wait, what?" Dave looked at Kadence with concern in his eyes. "You and Mickie are going to be in a steel cage match?"

"Yep, for Survivor Series. The last move is going to be tricky so they must want to give us as much time as possible to work on it." Kadence went back to looking over her script completely oblivious to how worried Dave was. "Well this week looks pretty simple, the normal backstage skits and the main event between you and Hunter. Ready to go?" Kadence set her script down on the bed and looked expectantly at Dave.

Trying to shake the concern he was feeling for Kadence and the steel cage match, Dave stood and gathered up their bags so they could check out of the hotel. "Let's go Kady bug." Smiling at Dave's nickname for her, Kadence led the way towards the lobby.

"I still don't understand why we can't take the elevator like normal people." Dave grumbled when they reached the lobby.

Kadence laughed as they moved towards the front desk. "You wouldn't want me to lose my cute body, now would you?" Dave looked Kadence over with a leering look, causing Kadence to laugh again. Before Dave could say anything, Kadence heard her name being called and glanced around. Finally spotting Mickie James, Kadence left Dave to take care of the checking out process while she went over to talk to her friend.

Dave watched Kadence hurry off before rolling his eyes and turning his attention to the front desk attendant who was waiting patiently.

"Your girlfriend seems to have a mind of her own, sir." The attendant stated as he pulled together the necessary paperwork.

"What? Oh no, she isn't my girlfriend." Dave quickly corrected the attendant as he handed back the completed paperwork with a smile. _But I wish she was._ Dave finished in his head.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

"Were you able to get them?" Dave spoke into his cell phone as he hailed a taxi to take him back to the hotel. "Okay so everything is set then. Thanks, I owe you one." Smiling Dave closed his phone and leaned his head back on the seat willing the taxi to hurry back to the hotel. He couldn't wait to get back and see Kadence. He realized that most of his free time he was thinking about his partner. Frowning he wondered what it would take for her to realize that they were good together.

While he pondered how to get Kadence to see him as more than a friend and partner, the taxi pulled up to the front of the hotel. Stepping out of the taxi, Dave paid the driver and hurried into the lobby. Smiling he headed to the elevator, knowing that if Kadence was with him she would make him take the stairs. Getting off on his floor, he started towards his room. As her approached his room, he heard female laughter from behind the door. Rolling his eyes, he knew that Kadence and Mickie James had commandeered his room again. After Kadence and he had become partners, they had started getting connecting rooms. Now whenever he was out of his room, Kadence would take over. She insisted that his room was more comfortable than hers. Dave was pretty much helpless to tell her no, besides he liked having her in his space.

"You're back!" Kadence squealed, jumping off the bed, coming towards Dave as he entered the room.

"What do you want?" Dave cautiously backed up, knowing the look in her eyes as she approached.

"Well…" Kadence drew in a huge breath. "Mickie and I want to go shopping but we don't have anyone to carry the bags for us." Kadence looked up at Dave with puppy dog eyes. "Is there any chance you are free and would like to help out two powerless girls?"

Sighing Dave knew that there was no way he would be able to turn her down. "Fine, but let me get changed." Kadence smiled and threw her arms around his neck.

"Thanks Davey boy. You're the best!" Kadence grabbed Mickie's hand and pulled her into the other room to let Dave change. Shaking his head, Dave smiled as he slipped into jeans and a t-shirt. When he was ready to go, he knocked on the connecting door before entering to find the girls waiting impatiently for him.

After spending several hours following the girls around the mall, Dave was exhausted and very thankful that they were heading back to the hotel. He listened in amazement as Kadence and Mickie spoke rapidly about random things. He couldn't believe how much energy the girls still had. It seemed that the longer they shopped, the more energized they got, while he was being drained of his very life force. When they pulled up to the hotel, Dave sighed knowing he was going to have to carry all the shopping bags up to the rooms and since he was with Kadence he knew they would be taking the stairs.

Kadence glanced over at Dave and noticed how tired he was. Smiling, she hopped out of the car and flagged down a bell hop. Flashing the poor guy a huge smile, she proceeded to convince him to carry all the bags up to her room, where they would go through them. Dave laughed at Kadence's antics and felt a sense of relief that he didn't have to carry the bags himself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

Late Saturday morning, Dave was hanging out in his hotel room in St. Louis, MO watching TV, waiting until it was time to head over the arena, when all of a sudden the connecting door flew open.

"Did you know that The Killers were going to be in town tomorrow night?" Kadence threw herself on to the bed next to Dave. "They're, like, my absolute favorite! I tried to get tickets but they're already sold out. I'm so bummed!" Kadence sighed dramatically.

"Ah…poor baby." Dave teased. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Magically make two tickets appear, please." Kadence looked at Dave with puppy dog eyes. Dave laughed at her and held up his hands in a helpless gesture. "I suppose it was too much to hope for." Kadence sighed sadly. "Okay, well since we aren't going to the concert, what do you want to do on our day off?"

"Now why would you assume that I don't already have plans?" Dave inquired.

"Please!" Kadence rolled her eyes. "Since when did you get a life?"

"Hey! I resent that." Dave tried to look offended but failed miserably when Kadence started making faces at him and he couldn't help but laugh at her. "Okay, so I don't have any plans. How about I come up with something to do and surprise you?"

"Hmmm…" Kadence tapped her chin as she pretended to think about his offer. "I trust you with my life but I'm not sure I can trust you with my entertainment." Kadence leapt off the bed, laughing as Dave tried to attack her. "I suppose I can allow you to plan this one time. Don't let me down!" She threw over her shoulder as she headed back into her room. Ten minutes later she poked her head back into his room and asked if he was ready to head over to the arena.

"Sure am." Dave grabbed his bag and followed Kadence out of the room and down to the lobby.

"Why do we always have to take the stairs?" Dave whined, starting up a familiar argument between them but Kadence wasn't paying attention to him. He turned his head to see what had caught her attention.

"Dillon!" Kadence squealed, dropping her bag and running towards him just as Dave spotted him. Upon reaching him, she threw herself into his arms, almost knocking him over. Dave watched in jealousy as Kadence practically glowed at the man holding her.

"Hey there Kady girl! Did you miss me?" Dillon laughed as he spun his sister around.

"What are you doing here? Does Dad know you're here? Did Sara come with you? How's mom?" Kadence gasped as she realized that her brother could be there with bad news. "Is she okay? Nothing's happened to her, has it?" By this time Dave had picked up Kadence's bag and moved over to a section of chairs to wait for her. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he saw Kadence's eyes fill up with tears and he was immediately concerned for her. Before he could decide if he wanted to go to her, Dillon pulled her into another hug.

"Mom hasn't gotten any worse." Dillon was quick to reassure Kadence. "I'm in town for business and noticed that Raw was in town also. I figured this would be the perfect time to watch you live."

"Don't scare me like that again!" Kadence hit Dillon in the arm, relieved that her mom was okay. "I think that the show is sold out tonight, which is kind of amazing considering this is just a house show. Hey, how long are you in town for? Any chance you're going to get to come to the show Monday night?"

"Unfortunately I leave early tomorrow, so I won't be in town. Plus, I figured it might not be safe for me to go to a televised event, due to the fact that we now know dad watches them.

"True." Kadence nodded her head. "So did you get tickets for tonight or are you planning on just crashing the party?"

"I got tickets when I first learned I would be coming out here. With a little help from by friend, Benjamin Franklin, I was able to get in the front row." Dillon rubbed his fingers together, using an old sign that they had used as children to refer to money, causing Kadence to burst out laughing.

"Shit son! I gotta run or I'm going to be late!" Kadence said after catching a glimpse of the lobby clock.

"Promise you'll come find me after the show." Dillon hugged Kadence, making sure she agreed before letting her go. Smiling back at her brother, Kadence hurried towards Dave, who stood up when he spotted her coming. When she reached him, she grabbed his arm and started skipping towards the door. Dave, not expecting the sudden movement, stumbled before catching up with her.

"What has you so happy?" He smiled down at her, glad to see that whatever she had been talking to Dillon about hadn't ruined her day. Actually the more he thought about it he realized that she seemed to be in to good of a mood. Frowning, he wondered yet again if she wasn't having an affair with Dillon Blankenbiller.

"It's just a wonderful day." Kadence continued to the door, starting to hum, without noticing the frown that was darkening Dave's face. Upon exiting the hotel, they ran into Mickie, Hunter, and Shawn. The five of them decided to travel in the SUV that Shawn had rented since they would all be coming back to the hotel after the show. On the trip to the arena, Dave was quiet as he listened to Kadence and Mickie exchange celebrity gossip. Hunter and Shawn would occasionally through in a comment about certain people, but most of the time they were arguing over what type of music to listen to.

"Did either of you see Dillon Blankenbiller when you were in the lobby. Mickie asked as they arrived at the arena. Dave, who was watching Kadence, noticed her pale at Mickie's words.

"Yeah we saw him." Kadence replied stiffly.

"I would love to be able to take him home for a night." Mickie said dreamily, continuing on with their pervious conversation about which famous people they would like to sleep with.

"I'm pretty sure his married and aren't you engaged anyway?" Kadence sniped, getting out of the SUV and quickly disappearing into the arena, leaving behind a car full of very confused friends.

"What was that all about?" Hunter turned in his seat to look at Mickie and Dave. Both of them raised their shoulders in confusion.

"I'd probably better go find her and make sure she's okay." Mickie started to get out of the car but was stopped by Dave.

"Why don't you let me go talk to her?"

Mickie nodded feeling miserable that she had obviously upset her best friend. Dave climbed out of the SUV and headed towards the arena.

Seeing Mickie's face Shawn placed his arm around her. "Things will be okay between you."

Mickie looked at Shawn and gave a weak smile before nodding. "Yeah, I know but I hate making people upset."

The three members of DX walked slowly towards the arena each lost in thought. Once inside the found their locker room and started getting ready for that nights performance. Since it was a house show, the backstage area was more relaxed, helping Mickie to feel calmer about what had happened in the SUV.

--

"You okay?" Dave asked when he caught up with Kadence, who was sitting just inside the arena on the floor.

"Yeah." She smiled apologetically at him. "Is everyone upset with me for taking off like that?"

"I don't think that anyone is upset, just confused and worried. Want to talk about it?"

"Not really. It's pretty personal and I really don't want to share right now. Thanks for being willing to listen though."

Dave watched, hurt, as Kadence stood up and walked towards their locker room. _Why won't she open up to me? I really don't care if she is having an affair with a married man. I just want to be able to help her deal with the pain._ With those thoughts swimming in his head, Dave joined Kadence in their locker room so they could go through their pre-match rituals.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

A couple of hours later, a messenger knocked on their locker room door and announced that the steel cage was set up so if Mickie and Kadence wanted to practice they could. Kadence thanked the messenger and moved to gather up her wrestling gear.

"Are you going to come with me?" Kadence was looking at the floor when she asked Dave.

"I can if you want me to." Dave was a little surprised by the request. Normally Kadence didn't want anyone around when she was practicing. She said it threw off her rhythm and she wasn't able to focus.

"Please." Kadence looked up and Dave could see the apprehension on her face. "I'm kind of scared of some of the moves and I would feel better if I knew you were there."

Dave nodded in agreement and grabbed a water bottle before heading towards the ring with Kadence. On the walk there, Dave smiled on the inside as he realized that maybe just maybe Kadence was starting to trust him a little.

Mickie was already in the ring going through some warm up moves. Kadence stepped through the door, into the ring and began her own warm ups.

"I'm really sorry for the way I acted earlier." Kadence apologized as they helped each other stretch. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. Forgive me?"

"Of course, you want to talk about it?" Kadence shook her head at Mickie's question. "Okay, well if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know I am always here." Kadence smiled at Mickie, nodding her head.

After they finished stretching, Kadence and Mickie locked up in the middle of the ring and started running through some simple moves. They continued to run through moves, getting increasingly harder the longer the worked out. Before they had time to work up to the final move, they needed to clear out of the ring and get ready for the show.

"You looked good out there." Dave placed his arm around Kadence's shoulder, giving her a squeeze. "I think you should be able to handle anything they through at you." Kadence smiled gratefully at him as they walked backstage.

Since the show was only a house show, Kadence and Dave were in a mixed tag team with Mickie and Shawn. As they waited for their match to be called, the four of them sat in the back and played cards with Hunter and Stephanie. Finally their match was called and DX made their way to the ring amidst many boos. When Kadence's music started, the arena erupted into cheers as the women's champion stepped into the spotlight. They continued to cheer as she paused and waited for Dave to join her before they made their way down to the ring, accompanied by Dave's music.

The match was fairly simple with no high risk moves. After about thirty minutes of wrestling, Dave hit Shawn with the Batista Bomb, effectively ending the match. DX made their way to the back, leaving Kadence and Dave to celebrate in the ring. After posing in the ring for a couple of minutes, they climbed out of the ring. As always after a win, they took the time to shake hands with their fans. On the way to the back Kadence spotted Dillon. She ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck, causing Dillon to laugh. As the crowd cheered, Kadence kissed Dillon's cheek before heading towards the back.

Dave, feeling jealous after watching Kadence kiss Dillon, immediately headed towards the locker room to get ready to head back to the hotel. Kadence watched him walk away; wondering what was wrong before turning and heading towards DX's locker.

"Hey guys." Kadence poked her head into the locker room after getting an affirmative answer to her knock. "I just wanted to let you know that I won't be riding back to the hotel with you."

"Okay." Mickie acknowledge, throwing Kadence a smile before turning back to her conversation with Shawn and Hunter.

Kadence made her way towards her locker room, thinking about her family. At times she really wanted to tell her friends about them but she knew what could happen if they ever found who she really was. Even though she trusted her friends, she wasn't going to take the chance that she could be hounded by the media day and night again. Because of this, she kept quiet about her relationship with Dillon. She knew that some people probably assumed she was having an affair and she knew that she couldn't help the opinions they formed, but it still hurt when her friends looked at her like she was doing something wrong.

Slowly she opened the door to the locker room still lost in thought. Entering the room she noticed that Dave was already gone and she felt her heart break a little, knowing he was unhappy with her. Quickly she gathered up her things and headed towards the front of the arena to meet up with Dillon. She kept her eyes open for Dave so she could tell him where she was going but she didn't spot him. Walking out of the arena, she spotted the white stretch limousine with her brother standing next to it and started to laugh.

"Your white limo awaits you, my lady." Dillon bowed, sweeping his arm towards the open door.

"Why thank you kind sir." Kadence pretended to curtsey before climbing into the back of the limo. "I can't believe you got a white limo for tonight!"

"Why wouldn't I get you a white limo? I remember when that was the only thing you wanted, your very own white limo."

"And I remember how mad Dad would get at me every time I asked for one? He would always tell me how it was a waste of money and the limos we already had were good enough. There was no way he was going to buy one just for me."

"You wore him down though. If I recall, he bought a white limo when you were 13 and that was the only car you would ride in from that day on."

"I know. Mom would get so mad at me when I would insist on taking the white limo every time we went out as a family. I was the embodiment of spoiled bitch." Kadence smiled as she reminisced with her brother on the way back to the hotel. Once they arrived, Kadence ran up to her room to shower quickly and change while Dillon waited in the limo. After changing, she stopped by Dave's room to see if he wanted to go with them, but he wasn't there. She scribbled him a note and left it on his bedside table before leaving.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

When Dave reached the locker room, he was surprised that Kadence hadn't followed him. He decided she must have gone to find Dillon, which upset him even more. Determined to not be there when they arrived, he slammed his things into his bag and stormed out of the locker room, heading towards the parking lot to wait for everyone else. Since the SUV was locked, Dave sat down on the curb next to it. While he was waiting, he noticed a white limo pull up and stop in front of the arena. Dillon climbed out of the limo and before long Kadence came out of the building. He was to far away to hear what they were saying but he watched as Dillon bowed to Kadence and she curtseyed back. Seething with jealousy he watched as Kadence climbed into the limo and then followed the limo with his eyes until it was out of sight. Twenty minutes later, Hunter, Shawn and Mickie came out of the building and they all headed back to the hotel.

When they arrived at the hotel, Dave once again saw the white limo as it pulled away from the hotel. Hoping that Dillon had just dropped off Kadence, he climbed out of the SUV, thanked Shawn for driving, and headed for his room. Once there, he found the note from Kadence letting him know she had gone out with Dillon. Furious, he crumpled the note and threw it across the room. Deciding he didn't want to be alone in his room that night, he showered and changed before heading back down to the lobby. When he arrived, he spotted a group of wrestlers and went to join them.

"Dave, what's up buddy?" Matt greeted him. "Where's your other half?

"Where's everyone going?" Dave neatly sidestepped the question about where Kadence was.

"I think we're going to hit one of the dance clubs downtown." Jeff said coming to stand next to his brother. "Are you coming with us?"

"Yeah, I think I will. I need to get out of the hotel and since we have tomorrow off I figured I would see what everyone else was up to." Dave continued to make small talk with the Hardy brothers while they waited for a few more people to show up. Soon they made their way downtown, where they proceeded to move from club to club, finally finding one that everyone liked.

Even though Dave liked the music and enjoyed the company of everyone he was with, he couldn't shake the depressed feeling that had been with him since he found Kadence's note. Deciding to call it a night, he headed back to the hotel after only being at the club for half an hour.

--

Dillon took Kadence out for a late supper at a small Indian restaurant. After eating, they decided to head downtown to check out the dance clubs. As they pulled up to the curb, the limo was immediately surrounded by photographer. Knowing that there was no way they would be able to get out of the limo and into the club without someone getting a picture of them, they decided to rethink their plans.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel and just watch movies?" Kadence turned to face Dillon.

"Sure. Sara won't watch horror movies with me, so I'm way behind on them."

"Awesome! I haven't had a good horror movie marathon in a long time."

Dillon instructed the driver to go to the nearest rental store. On the way, they compiled a list of favorite horror movies and new ones they wanted to watch. Dillon went and rented the movies, while the driver took Kadence to a grocery store to pick up junk food for them to snack one.

When they reached the hotel, they struggled to carry everything up to Kadence's room. "I don't understand why you won't let me use the elevator. I like the way I look." Dillon whined as he tried to keep from dropping everything in his arms. Kadence laughed as she struggled to get her key out of her pocket. Finally they successfully got everything into the room. While Dillon worked on setting up the DVD player, Kadence ran down the hall to get ice for their drinks. As she headed back to her room, she spotted Dave going into his room. Smiling, she hurried towards his room to see if he wanted to watch movies with her and Dillon.

"What are you doing here?" Dave was surprised to see Kadence on the other side of the door. "I thought you and Dillon were going out."

"We did." Kadence shrugged. "There were too many photographers and it would be very bad for Dillon if we had our picture taken together."

"And why is that? Afraid his wife might see them?" Dave knew he was being snide but he really didn't care. He was sick of seeing Kadence run around with another man.

"Actually his wife wouldn't care. She would probably be thrilled to see us together. We're more worried about his father seeing the picture." Kadence moved into Dave's room so that their conversation wouldn't be overheard. Dave let the door swing shut behind her and stood with his arms crossed. "I know you think that I'm having an affair with Dillon but you have to believe me when I tell you I'm not." Kadence shuddered at the though of having an affair with her brother. "I wish I could explain everything to you but I can't right now and I hope that you can respect that."

"I wish you would tell me everything. I want to be able to help you but I will respect your wishes. Just promise me that if you are able to ever talk about it, you will come to me first."

"I will." Kadence said softly. "So are we okay now?"

"Yeah." Dave smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for always overreacting."

"I'll forgive you on one condition." Dave looked questioningly at her. "You'll come watch movies with Dillon and me. We're having a horror movie marathon and I need someone to protect me."

"Dillon won't protect you?"

"Hell no! He's the one I'm going to need to be protected against. He likes to try and scare me during the movies, and trust me, it isn't hard to do."

"Since it's to save you from being scared, I suppose I can come rescue you." Dave acted like it was a huge burden to help her out, causing Kadence to laugh and swat at her arm. She took his hand and led him through the connecting door.

"Look who I found." Kadence said as they stepped into her room. "Now you can't scare me." She looked smugly at Dillon, who rolled his eyes at her before asking which movie they wanted to watch first. Kadence set the ice down before picking up the movies and looking through them.

"Seriously Dillon? Kadence held up _Halloween_. "I can't believe you want to watch this movie. You must have seen it hundreds of times.

"Come on Kady, it's a classic." Kadence made a face at her brother before showing the title to Dave. Dave started laughing as he recognized the title.

"Just for that, we're going to watch this movie first." Dillon grabbed the movie from Kadence's hand and stuck it into the DVD player. Kadence sat on the bed and motioned for Dave to join her.

"You can't sit with us. I don't want you trying to scare me." Kadence told her brother. Dillon rolled his eyes at her before shutting off the movies and moving to sit in the chair facing the TV.

After they finished watching _Halloween_, they decided to watch _Dead Silence_, which none of them had seen yet.

"Just so you know I'm a little jumpy when it comes to horror movies I haven't seen yet." Kadence leaned over and whispered to Dave. "I'm apologizing in advance for any bruises or nail marks I may leave on you." Dave smiled down at her, knowing that he wouldn't mind at all.

Not very far into the movie, Dave felt Kadence's hand grip his. Smiling to himself, he looked down at her. She was completely fixated on the TV. As the movie progressed, Dave noticed Kadence move closer to him. He gently pulled his hand from her grasp so he could slip his arm around her. She quickly moved so that his arm was wrapped around her, clutching his hand with hers. Several times throughout the movie, Kadence hid her head in his chest.

Halfway through the third movie, Dave noticed that Kadence had drifted off the sleep. When the movie ended he motioned for Dillon to be quiet. He tucked her into bed before they snuck out of her room.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Dillon asked as soon as they were in the hallway.

Dave regarded Dillon carefully before answering. "Yes, but she has no idea."

"She probably doesn't. She used to be so good at reading people but after what happened with Chr…" Dillon paused. "Well, let's just say she doesn't trust her instincts anymore. Don't give up on her though. I think you would be good for her and she does care for you. She just doesn't realize how much yet." Dillon smiled at Dave before turning to leave. "Oh and just so you know, Kadence and I aren't involved the way everyone thinks we are." Dillon shot over his shoulder before disappearing into the stairwell.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**A/N: **_So I decided that I have taken a long enough break from the fanfiction world. While I do enjoy writing original fiction and will continue to do so, I realized that I miss my fans here on the fanfiction site. So for those of you who enjoy my writing, I will be posting a new story hopefully by early next week. I believe that this on will focus on John Cena and an original character. I hope that you all will check it out! So anyway, on to the story and don't forget to review!_

--

The next morning, Dave woke with a smile on his face. Glancing at the clock he realized that he needed to get down to the lobby. Quickly he pulled on a pair of sweats with a t-shirt and slipped into a pair of tennis shoes.

When he reached the lobby her looked around before spotting his friend, Diane. Quickly he made his way over to her.

"You have them?" Diane held up an envelope. Dave took the envelope and looked in to make sure that everything was correct. "I don't even want to know what you had to do to get these. I owe you big time."

"Yes you do and don't think I won't collect." Diane responded, taking the money that Dave handed to her. The two friends said goodbye and Dave headed back up to his room. Smiling Dave headed to the shower to get ready for the day.

An hour later, Dave headed down to the lobby to meet Kadence for breakfast. Entering the lobby, he spotted Kadence standing in the middle of the room talking to some fans. He made his way towards her, admiring the way she handled some of the more persistent fans.

"Thank goodness you're here." Kadence said under her breath as Dave approached. "Please get me out of here." Dave efficiently extracted Kadence from her adoring fans and they headed towards the front door.

"So…what's the plan for tonight?" Kadence tried to sound nonchalant causing Dave to laugh at her.

"I'm not going to tell you. You decided to trust me with your entertainment for the night, so know you have to wait and see."

"No fair!" Kadence crossed her arms and pouted. As Dave watched her, he got the sudden urge to lean over and kiss the pout away. Quickly he turned away from Kadence so he wouldn't act on his impulses.

"You know that isn't going to work on me, Kady bug." Kadence made a face at him as they made their way to a small café next to the hotel. By the time they reached it, Kadence had stopped pouting and started bugging Dave for information again. Breakfast was filled with laughter as the two partners enjoyed time together.

They decided to spend the day resting at the hotel before going out that night. The rented more movies and made their way back to Kadence's room, where they spent the rest of the morning watching movies. At lunch time they ordered room service and continued watching movies until about three that afternoon. When the last movie ended, Dave got up and told Kadence that she needed to start getting ready to go.

"What are we doing tonight? I need to know how to dress." Kadence looked at Dave with an innocent look on her face.

"Nice try." Dave shook his head at her. "Just dress the way you would if you were going out with a bunch of friends for the night."

"Grrr…" Kadence growled at Dave. "That doesn't help me at all." Realizing that he wasn't going to giver her anymore help, she narrowed her eyes at him before kicking him out of her room so she could get ready.

"Meet me in the lobby at five." Dave called over his shoulder as she started to shut the door behind him.

"I'll think about it." Kadence sniffed, causing Dave to laugh. Kadence took a quick shower before going through everything she had brought with her. Getting frustrated because she didn't know what to wear, she placed a quick call to Mickie James. While she waited for Mickie to show up, she did her makeup and hair. She blow dried her hair before pulling it into a high ponytail and curling the ends.

"Finally!" Kadence said as she opened the door at Mickie's knock. Quickly she pulled Mickie into her room. "Took you long enough to get her."

"What has you so worked up?" Mickie laughed at her friend's obvious panic.

"I'm glad you find my situation so amusing." Kadence stuck her tongue out at her friend before explaining. "Dave's planned what we are going to do tonight and he won't give me any details. I have no idea what to wear!" Kadence finished with a wail before collapsing on the bed dramatically.

Mickie looked around the room before turning to Kadence. "Did you empty your entire suitcase?" She arched her eyebrow at Kadence as she waited for a reply.

Kadence took a look at the mess she had made of her room. "I may have." She raised her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I couldn't decide what to wear."

Mickie picked her way through the strewn clothes. As she moved through the room, she picked up different articles of clothing. Finally she turned to Kadence, holding and outfit.

"That's perfect!" Kadence looked over the outfit, which consisted of a pair of tight blue jeans, a black and red corset top, and a pair of black heeled boots. For accessories, Mickie had picked out a chain belt, Kadence's black cross necklace and a pair of hoop earrings. "I swear I looked over all that stuff, like three times but never put them all together like that. You're a miracle worker!" Kadence hugged Mickie before slipping into the outfit that she had picked out. While Kadence got dressed, Mickie took Kadence's spot on the bed so they could gossip. Before Kadence knew it, the clock said it was five and she needed to head down to the lobby. She told Mickie goodbye, thanking her again for helping pick out the outfit, before turning to hurry down the hall towards the stairwell.

Mickie watched Kadence hurry away, wondering when Kadence would realize that she was falling for Dave. Smiling, Mickie turned towards her room.

--

A very nervous Dave stood in the lobby waiting for Kadence to show up. He shifted from foot to foot as he watched the stairwell. When she finally emerged, Dave forgot to breath. As he watched her walk towards him, he had trouble swallowing.

"Wow! You look…" Dave took Kadence's hand and spun her around. "…absolutely stunning."

Kadence blushed at Dave's words. "You don't look to bad yourself." She admired the way his upper body filled out his button up shirt. Dave offered her his arm; dipping her head slightly, Kadence took the arm and allowed Dave to lead her out of the hotel were a limo was waiting for them. Once they were settled in the limo, Dave told her what restaurant they were going too and Kadence approved whole heartedly.

After a quiet dinner, they headed back to the limo. "Okay you have to tell me what we're doing now." Kadence turned to face Dave.

"Well…" Dave pretended to think about it. At Kadence's look of outrage, Dave started to laugh. Quickly Kadence reached up and snatched Dave's signature sunglasses of his face.

"If you don't tell me, the sunglasses will get it." Kadence lifted one eyebrow threateningly as she rolled down the window and held the sunglasses out of the moving limo.

"Okay, okay, I surrender. I'll tell you whatever you want, just don't hurt the sunglasses!" Dave tried to grab the sunglasses from Kadence, but she stopped him with a look that said if he came any closer, she would drop them. Settling back into his seat, Dave reached into his pocket and pulled out and envelope. He offered it to Kadence in exchange for the sunglasses. Slowly Kadence pulled her hand back into the limo and handed Dave his sunglasses, at the same time grabbing the envelope. Dave placed the sunglasses back on his head while he watched Kadence look in the envelope.

"No way!! How did you ever get these?" Kadence pulled out a pair of tickets to The Killers' concert.

"I called in a favor from one of my friends. You like?"

"Hell yeah! This is the coolest thing ever!" Kadence leaned over and hugged Dave. For the rest of the ride to the concert, she could barely sit still.

Upon arriving at the concert, they made their way to the private box that Dave's friend had been able to secure for them. From there they were able to enjoy the concert without being harassed by fans. After the concert, they tiredly made their way back to the hotel. Since the next day was Monday, they made plans to meet for a late breakfast before heading directly to bed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

The next couple of weeks flew by as the WWE continued to travel and prepare for Survivor Series. Before Kadence was ready, it was the week leading up to her steel cage match with Mickie. For the last couple of weeks there had been a steel cage match at some point so that they could practice. Even though they had nailed most of the moves that were being required in the cage, Kadence was still leery of the final move from the top of the cage since they had only gone over it a couple of times.

After the live broadcast of Monday Night Raw, all the superstars were given off until Friday, when they had to be in Boston for the preparation of Survivor Series. Even though they wouldn't be having any house shows, Vince wanted everyone in Boston so that people could work on last minute matches.

Kadence spent the time off with Mickie James so they could continue working on some of the more tricky moves. When they arrived in Boston, they were met by Hunter, Stephanie, Shawn and Dave.

"Did you ladies have a good time?" Shawn asked as he offered to take Mickie's luggage, while Dave grabbed Kadence's slipping his arm around her, pulling her close to him. Kadence smiled up at him before moving away, leaving Dave confused.

"We sure did." Mickie chirped as they made their way towards the doors.

Dave noticed that throughout the entire ride to the hotel, Kadence was preoccupied. If anyone asked her a question, they would have to repeat it before she would answer. Upon their arrival at the hotel, the girls went to find bell hops to carry up the luggage, while the guys went to check in. Dave started to get really worried when Kadence didn't insist that they take the stairs.

After everyone had dropped of their things, they all met in the lobby and headed over to the arena for the mandatory staff meeting. When they arrived, they noticed that the ring and steel cage had already been set up. Mickie and Kadence moved to one side so that they could talk about their match, leaving the guys to go talk to other superstars. Soon everyone was there and the meeting got underway. Vince let the superstars know what was expected of them that weekend and the different signings that people had to attend. After receiving their signing, practice, and show schedules the group dispersed. Dave and Kadence headed back to the hotel with Mickie, leaving Shawn and Hunter behind to work out with some of the other wrestlers.

On the way back to the hotel, Kadence seemed even more withdrawn than before. Dave glanced in the rearview mirror every once in awhile to check on her, but she wouldn't look at anything other than the schedules she had received at the meeting. Concerned, Dave looked at Mickie who was sitting in the front seat, but she just shook her head and mouthed, "Later". Dave nodded and they continued the drive in silence.

As soon as the car stopped, Kadence got out and headed up to her room. Dave and Mickie followed at a slower pace so they could talk.

"What's up with Kady?" Dave watched her retreating back as he spoke to Mickie.

"I'm not really sure. From what I can gather something happed in her family. Has she ever talked to you about them? Dave shook his head, so Mickie continued. "She hasn't ever said anything about them to me either but on Tuesday she got a call from someone and I heard her mention the word 'mom'. I have no idea if something is wrong with her mom or if that's who she was talking to. Anyway, all I know is that when she got off the phone she wasn't the same. I would find her staring off in space and she seemed really distant. She always kept her cell phone with her and when it rang she was quick to pick it up. Sometimes leaving the room to talk to whoever was on the other end. I wish I knew more but every time I asked if something was wrong she would smile and say that everything was okay." Mickie ended with a shrug.

"I'll try and talk to her and see if she's really okay." Mickie nodded at Dave's words before they went their separate ways. As Dave approached Kadence's door, he heard her talking to someone. He couldn't make out what she was saying but it sounded like Kadence was crying, so he knocked on the door. After a couple of minutes, Kadence opened the door, holding her cell phone to her ear and Dave could immediately tell his concern was founded. He was shocked when Kadence flung her arm around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Placing his arms around her, Dave stood in the doorway and supported her while she cried silently at whatever the person on the other end of the phone was telling her.

"Okay, well thanks for calling me. Call me back if things change." With those words, Kadence hung up her phone and burst into sobs that racked her whole body. Soon she wasn't able to stand, so Dave picked her up and carried her into the room, kicking the door shut behind them. He made his way over to the bed, sitting down carefully; he made himself comfortable against the back board, allowing Kadence to curl up in his lap.

"She's going to die and I can't even be there!" Kadence sobbed softly, her words muffled by Dave's shirt.

"Who's going to die?" Dave asked quietly but Kadence didn't hear him as she was so absorbed in her misery. Dave continued to hold her until the sobs died down to quiet hiccups, and soon Kadence fell asleep, safe in his arms.

Several hours later, a much refreshed Kadence woke to find Dave snoring gently while she lay in his lap. Smiling to herself, she snuggled closer, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. Soon reality returned and her smile disappeared, as she remembered the phone call from her brother.

While she had been at Mickie's, Dillon had called to let her know that Cheryl had contracted a serious infection in her lungs, but they expected her to pull through and he would keep her updated. Every day for the rest of the week, Dillon would call to let her know how things were going. Yesterday they had seemed so optimistic that Cheryl had almost kicked the infection. The phone call she had received from him just before Dave arrived at her door had been to let her know that Cheryl had taken a turn for the worse during the night. As she thought about her family, she wrapped her arms around Dave, continuing to hold on to the one person who remained strong for her, no matter what. Even though he didn't know what was going on, he had been there to hold her. She decided that it was time to tell him about her family and pray that the shit didn't hit the fan. It was the least she could do. Feeling grimy after the plane ride and her crying episode, Kadence climbed off Dave's lap and headed into the bathroom to take a shower.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

Dave woke slowly to find himself alone in Kadence's room. He could hear water running in the bathroom, so he moved off the bed and stretched. He could hear Kadence humming in the shower, and he figured that whatever had been bothering her was no longer an issue. He headed back to his room so he could start unpacking some of his things. Before he got very far, he heard a knock on the connecting door and Kadence poked her head into the room.

"Hey partner, you up to anything?"

"Just putting some things away." Dave looked up from his suitcase. Kadence came into his room and flung herself on the bed. "Feel free to come in and make yourself at home." Dave said sarcastically causing Kadence to giggle. "It's good to hear you laugh. Want to talk about earlier?" Dave was hesitant to ask because he didn't want to send Kadence back into her blue mood.

"Actually, I was hoping you wouldn't mind listening to me." Kadence turned on her side, propping her head up with her hand so she could look at Dave. Dave put down the toiletry kit he had been rummaging through and came over to sit on the bed. Kadence moved to make room him before starting.

"I want to tell you about my family but before I can do that I must warn you what could happen if anyone else finds out what you know. If you were ever to impart anything I tell you here, you could very well ruin the lives of three people I hold very dear to me. You must promise that everything you learn about me and my family will go with you to your grave. You can't talk about any of this with anyone other than me and NEVER in a crowded room. I know that all this sounds a little dramatic but it's the only way I can make sure that the people I love stay safe." Dave looked at Kadence to see if she was really serious, before nodding that he understood.

Kadence took a deep breath and moved so she was sitting up with her back against the back board. Looking down at her hands she contemplated how to tell her story. After a long pause, she looked back up at Dave. "Okay, so probably the best place to start is with Dillon. Dillon is my twin brother."

Dave reacted with a look of disbelief. "Seriously? You don't look anything like him, plus isn't your last name Edwards?" Dave wasn't sure that he believed Kadence and he looked for signs that she was trying to pull a fast one on him.

"My real name is Stacey Kadence Edwards Blankenbiller. "Kadence looked back down at her hands, knowing that what she was telling Dave was hard to believe. "My father disowned me about six years ago, right after my 20th birthday. He had forbidden anyone in my family to contact me in any way, and if they did he would disown them as well. I hadn't seen or talked to any of my family until a couple of months ago when you first meet Dillon. While my father was out of town on business, Dillon, his wife Sara, and my mother, Cheryl, came to see me. They wanted to let me know that my mom's cancer was back. Since that time I have talked to my brother almost weekly and seen him a couple of times when he happened to be in the same town as us for business. Whenever we are together, we have to be extremely careful that no one gets a picture of us together. If my father ever found out that he was in contact with me…, well let's just say that things wouldn't be good for Dillon."

Kadence looked at Dave to see what he thought of everything she had just told him. The look on his face let her know that he believed her, so she continued with her story. "A couple of days ago, Dillon called to let me know that my mom had contacted a serious infection in her lungs but they thought she would pull through just fine. Then today, he called to let me know that things had gotten worse and they weren't sure if she was going to recover. That's when you came in and I cried all over you." As Kadence finished her story, she struggled to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall again. Dave quietly slipped his arm around her and held her until she was able to contain her emotions.

"That's a pretty intense story. Can I ask why your dad disowned you?" Dave asked after Kadence seemed to be feeling better.

Oh yeah, I guess I did forget that part." Kadence moved to sit up again, smiling sheepishly. "From the time I was a baby I had been promised to the son of my dad's business partner. Craig, that's the son's name, and I were really close but neither one of us wanted to marry the other. Craig was a couple of years older than me and he had fallen in love with a girl his freshman year in college and wanted to marry her but couldn't because of the agreement. We tried everything that we could think of to get out of the marriage but nothing worked. Craig wasn't going to throw away his life, so he was resigned to marrying me. I never wanted to marry Craig in the first place, but I really didn't want to marry him knowing that his heart would always belong to another woman. When I was 19 and a sophomore in college, I meet Christian. It was love at first sight and I finally understood the way that Craig felt. I decided that the only way to fix the problem was to elope with Christian. That way Craig would be free to marry his love and I would have Christian. I told my dad about Christian and my plan two days after my 20th birthday. He told me that the only reason why Christian wanted to marry me was because of my money. I, of course, wouldn't believe him. I was so sure that Christian loved me for me and my dad was just trying to break us up. I told him that he was wrong, packed my bags and left that night. The next morning, my dad broke the news that I was no longer a part of the Blankenbiller family. I found out by watching the press conference my dad had called that morning. In the end my father had been right, Christian split right after the news broke, leaving me alone. I considered crawling back to my dad but I have a very stubborn streak so I decided to make it on my own. For the first couple of months I was constantly hounded by the media. Finally, I had enough of being followed and questioned at every turn, so I started using my two middle names, got a job with the WWE so I could travel, and the rest, as they say, is history.

After Kadence stopped talking, Dave didn't say anything for awhile as he tried to absorb everything she had just told him.

"Wow." Was the only thing that Dave could say.

"I know, pretty crazy story, huh?" Kadence laughed at the shocked expression on Dave's face. "Well that's my life story in a nutshell."

"Thanks for tell me the story." Dave looked at Kadence, his heart breaking as he thought of all the pain she had been through the last couple of years. "I hope that you know I'm here for you and I swear I'll never speak of this to anyone."

Kadence leaned over and hugged Dave. "Thanks for always being there for me."

**A/N:** _Okay, so I have posted my new story. It's titled Letting Go but no one is really reading it. Since this story tends to get quite a few readers, I'm begging you to go check out the new story. It can be found on my profile. Also, I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not I should continue the story. No one is reviewing so I don't know if anyone likes the story. Please read and review if you want me to continue with Letting Go. And since you are going to review my new story, leave me some good cheer on this one also. Please review!!!_

_Thanks to everyone that has been a faithful reviewer. You all make my day so bright and cheery. We are reaching the end of this story but don't worry I have a new one started and several great ideas. I hope to see you all reading my new stories. Again, thanks to everyone who's reading. You are my sunshine._ :-)


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

--

Saturday was filled with practice and signing. Since telling Dave about her family the night before, Kadence felt closer to him. When they were alone, she would tell him stories about Dillon and her growing up. Dave loved hearing Kadence talk about her family, so he encouraged her to talk as much as she wanted. He was glad that she had finally opened up to him.

Kadence found herself watching Dave when he was near, and thinking about him when he wasn't. She soon realized that she was falling in love with her partner. Since Kadence was always one to follow her heart, she decided to talk to Dave about it.

Saturday night, after another mandatory meeting, Kadence and Dave made their way back to the hotel with the members of DX. Since Survivor Series was the next day everyone decided to stay in for the night. Mickie went to find her fiancée, while Shawn and Hunter went to find their wives. Dave and Kadence made their way back to their rooms, talking about what movie to watch.

"Before we watch the movie, can I talk to you about something?" Kadence shifted from foot to foot as the stood outside Dave's door.

"Sure." Dave looked curiously at Kadence. For as long as he could remember, she had never acted nervous. Letting the door close behind them, Dave watched in amusement as Kadence moved restlessly around the room. All of a sudden she stopped and turned to face him.

"I've always been a very open person. I don't like hiding my feeling and that's one of the reasons I never quite fit in with my parent's social circles. If I feel a certain way, then I'm going to tell that person how I feel." Dave listened to Kadence babble while trying to hide his laughter by keeping his head ducked down. "I just wanted to let you know that I may be falling in love with you." At her words, Dave's head jerked up and he stared at her.

"What did you say?" He demanded.

"I think I'm falling in love with you and I just wanted to let you know. Like I said earlier, I don't like hiding my feelings. I know that we have to work closely together and I just thought you should know. Don't worry; my feeling won't affect the way we work together. I'm very good at putting my feelings aside."

While talking, Kadence took to pacing around the room again. When she turned to start back the way she had come, she ran into Dave's chest. Slowly looking up, she met his eyes which were filled with desire. Before she could say anything else, Dave's lips cam crashing down on hers. Quickly they both lost themselves in the kiss, only coming up for air. Soon their clothes started to disappear as they tried to get closer to each other.

Later, as they lay in bed together, Dave turned to Kadence who was lying on her side. He gently ran his hand over her face. "Just so you know I've been in love with you for quite awhile. I was hoping that someday you would come to care for me also." Kadence smiled at Dave before leaning up to kiss him again. Needless to say the movie was forgotten as they spent the rest of the night exploring each other's bodies.

The next morning, Kadence woke slowly. Smiling she turned over to watch Dave as he slept, only to find him already awake. "Good morning gorgeous." Dave said.

"Good morning to you." Kadence ran her hand over Dave's chest, marveling at the muscles she felt. "I should probably get up and shower so we aren't late."

"Want some company?" Kadence laughed at the devilish look in Dave's eyes before hopping out of bed and heading to her own room. At the door, she looked back and crooked her finger at him. Immediately he jumped out of bed and followed her to the bathroom.

After their shower they got dressed and gathered all their things up. After glancing around to make sure they hadn't left anything behind, they made their way down to the lobby to check out before heading to the arena. On their way to the lobby they ran into Mickie.

"About damn time!" Mickie exclaimed after taking on look at them. Kadence looked at Dave and they both burst out laughing. "It's seriously about time the two of you stopped dancing around each other. I'm so happy for you!" Mickie hugged Kadence before running off to spread the word that the women's champion and the world heavy weight champion were now a couple.

"Good thing we didn't want to keep our relationship a secret." Dave muttered to Kadence as they continued on to the lobby. After checking out, they went to a nearby restaurant to get breakfast, heading to the arena when they were finished.

They quickly found their locker room and dropped their things off before going to find the video crew so they could tape their backstage skits. Tonight both their belts were on the line, so they had several skits to tape with the members of DX.

After they finished taping everyone moved back towards the DX locker room. Mickie and Kadence moved off to one side of the locker room to discuss their match, mostly talking about the finish since they had never worked on the whole thing. After a while the guys decided that the girls had talked long enough so they dragged them into playing poker with them.

--

Survivor Series started with a bang. At that sound, Dave and Kadence said goodbye to the member of DX and made their way to their locker room. Once in the locker room, they ran through their warm ups before settling in to wait for their matches to be called. While they waited, Kadence expressed her concern regarding the finish to Dave. He convinced her that she could handle it and to not change anything.

Finally a messenger came to let Kadence know that her match was next and she needed to make her way to the gorilla pit. Dave walked with her to the pit, since he would be escorting her to the ring. They found that Mickie, Shawn, and Hunter already waiting. The five of them stood together as they watched the Hardy Boys successfully defend their tag tem titles against Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. They congratulated the Hardy boys on their win as they came through the curtain, accepting their wishes of good luck.

"Tonight we will see two beautiful divas battle it out in one of the most brutal settings. Which one of them will survive?" King said as everyone in the arena watched the cage descend from the ceiling. JR went on to detail what the match would entail before a video montage started showing the feud between Kadence and Mickie James. The video showed how, during almost every one of their matches either Dave or DX would get involved, which lead to Vince announcing that they would battle it out in the steel cage where no one could interfere.

Once the video ended, Lillian announced the rules of the match before pausing for DX's music. Mickie appeared with Shawn and Hunter amid a chorus of boos. DX made their way to the ring with Lillian announcing Mickie as she arrived at the ring. Mickie climbed into the ring while Shawn and Hunter moved to one side, talking to her through the cage. After a long pause the arena was filled with the sound of Rob Zombie's _Bring Her Down (To Crippletown)_, bringing the entire arena to their feet. Kadence and Dave made their way through the curtain, posing for the audience before moving down the ramp to the ring. Shawn and Hunter moved around the ring towards the door as Kadence made her way to the ring. Dave immediately stepped in front of her causing a stare down by the guys while Kadence climbed into the ring, handing her championship belt to the ref.

Kadence and Mickie met in the middle of the ring and locked up as soon as the bell was rung. The match was fast paced and very brutal. Before long, both Kadence and Mickie were bleeding. Outside the ring, Dave, Shawn, and Hunter yelled encouragement to their respective partners. The crowd was on their feet throughout the entire match, erupting into either cheers or boos as the two divas hit the hard moves. After being in the ring for twenty minutes, they started moving into their finishing sequence. At this time, DX rushed to attack Dave causing the guys to fight their way out of the arena, leaving the girls to finish their match alone. Kadence climbed to the top of the ropes and leapt on Mickie, knocking her down. Taking advantage of Mickie being down, Kadence started to climb to the top of the cage. By the time she reached the top, Mickie was up and coming after her. They started the moves scripted for the top of the cage. All of a sudden, Mickie lost her balance, falling back into the ring. The sudden loss of Mickie's weight caused Kadence to loss her balance as well. The crowd drew a collective breath and held it as they watched their favorite diva fall 15 feet to the cement floor.

"Kadence has retained the title, but at what cost?" JR stated as the arena stood in stunned silence. Trainers and paramedics rushed down the ramp to check on Kadence as Mickie stood in the middle of the ring looking at her best friend lying outside the ring. Because of their televised feud, she was unable to go to Kadence's side and see if she was okay. Quickly she climbed out of the ring and hurried to the back. As soon as she stepped through the curtain, she was greeted by a frantic Dave.

"They won't let me go see her. Does she look okay to you?"

"I couldn't tell. She fell on her side and it doesn't look like she's conscious right now." Mickie started to shake as what had happened sunk in. Shawn and Hunter hurried to her side and caught her before she collapsed. The four friends made their way to the DX locker room were they watched the paramedics working on Kadence. As the camera panned the audience you could see fans crying, while other stood in stunned silence. Everyone knew wrestling could be dangerous, but no on ever expected to see a major injury. When the paramedics started back up the ramp, Dave hurried to meet them.

"How is she?" He asked on of the paramedics.

"We aren't sure the extent of her injuries but from what we can tell, she could have a pretty serious head injure, along with a broken arm, and possibly several fractured ribs. Right now we are worried that if she did break a rib, it might have pierced a lung. We need to get her to a hospital right away." The paramedic informed Dave, knowing that he and Kadence were partners.

Dave wanted to go with Kadence to the hospital but was unable to since he still had to wrestle. He stood outside the arena watching helplessly as the ambulance pulled away, with tears streaming down his face. Running his hands through his hair, he turned to go back into the arena. Once inside, he was greeted by DX. He told them what the paramedic had told him before moving slowly towards his locker room. He quickly packed up Kadence's stuff so he could take it to the hospital after the show. The rest of the evening passed in a blur for him. He felt like he was on autopilot as he went through the motions during his match. At the end of the night, he quickly gathered up his things and headed towards the hospital, followed by several other wrestlers.

When they arrived at the hospital they found out that Kadence had been taken into surgery. They couldn't get anyone to tell them why she was in surgery or how bad her injuries were since no one was direct family. Wrestlers came and went as Dave waited to see if he could get anyone to tell him what was going on. Soon everyone had to be at the airport so they could make the next show but a they were leaving they all asked to be kept updated. Vince stopped by to let him know not to worry about making it to the show the next night. Once they got word on the extent of Kadence's injuries, they would decide what the best route would be for the storyline.

After waiting, with no news, for several hours, Dave was starting to get frustrated. As he was getting ready to track down a doctor, Dillon came bursting into the waiting room.

"Where is she? How's she doing?" Dillon was frantic as he came towards Dave. "I got here as soon as I could. Sara and I were watching and saw her fall." Dillon's eyes filled with tears as he thought about seeing his sister lying on the mat unmoving.

"They won't tell me anything because I'm not immediate family. Dave glanced around to see if they were alone before lowering his voice. "Kadence told me about her family." Dillon picked up on what he meant and nodded her head.

"I'll go see if I can find anything out." Dillon hurried out of the waiting room to find a nurse or doctor. Several minutes later he returned with a doctor in tow.

"Okay, now you can tell us what's going on." Dillon instructed the doctor.

"Kadence is out of surgery and resting right now. When she was brought in we were worried most about the broken ribs and internal bleeding. We were able to stop the bleeding and get the ribs set. Luckily, she didn't puncture a lung. She also broke her left arm in four place but we were able to get it set with no problems. She also has a pretty serious concussion but doesn't appear to have any other head injuries. For the fall that she took, she was pretty lucky." The doctor looked at the two guys who obviously cared for Kadence so much. "She's very lucky to the two of you here. She will need all the support she can get through the recovery process. You can both go visit her, but make sure she gets a lot of rest." With a gentle smile the doctor took his leave, after telling Dillon and Dave were to find Kadence's room.

"Just so you know Kadence and I are dating now." Dave informed Dillon as they made their way to Kadence's room.

"It's about time. I'm glad my sister finally came to her senses. I think you'll be good for her."

Gently they opened the door to her room, Dave nearly breaking down as he saw Kadence lying in the hospital bed hooked up to a bunch of machines, not moving. As if she could sense them, Kadence started stirring.

"Hey you." She said groggily, opening her eyes to see Dave standing in the doorway. "They tell me I'm going to live." Kadence cautiously shifted her weight. Seeing her grimace in pain, Dave hurried to her side so he could help her.

"Be careful." He told her as he gently helped her get settled. He moved a chair so he was sitting next to her, carefully taking her hand in his. Since Kadence hadn't taken her eyes off Dave, Dillon cleared his throat causing his sister's eyes to jump to him.

"Dill! What are you doing here?" Kadence smiled in joy as she noticed her brother.

"I saw you fall so I came to make sure you were okay." Dillon moved to stand on the other side of his sister's bed. Gently he brushed her hair out of her face before pulling up another chair.

"I told Dave about our family." Kadence turned to look at Dave with love in her eyes.

"I know, he told me when I arrived. I'm glad you finally opened up to someone. I don't think he will tell anyone. He wouldn't risk hurting you. I'm glad the two of you found each other." Dillon let his sister know once her eyes moved back to him. Kadence smiled at him, letting him know with her eyes that she was glad he approved of her choice. The two men stayed by her side until she drifted off to sleep again. Knowing it was going to be a long night, they headed down to the cafeteria to get coffee. They feel into an easy friendship as they walked the halls of the hospital. On their way back to Kadence's room, they heard a loud, angry male voice. Dave watched as Dillon paled and almost dropped his coffee.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Dillon and Dave moved around the corner to come face to face with Thaddeus Blankenbiller.

"I came to see Kadence but these incompetent idiots won't tell me where she is." Thaddeus turned back towards the nurse he had been yelling at. "She's my daughter and I want to know where she is!" He thundered, causing the nurse to pale.

"Dad! Watch what you say. If word gets out on whom Kadence really is this place will be crawling with media. Do you really think that she needs that right now?" Dillon admonished his father, gently steering him towards Kadence's room.

"Do you think she'll see me?" As Dave watched, one of the most influential men in the world became broken. "It almost killed me when I saw her fall. I never should have let her leave." Dillon placed his arm around his dad.

"I'm sure she'll be glad to see you." Dillon reassured his father. "By the way, this is Kadence's boyfriend, Dave Batista. Dave, my father, Thaddeus Blankenbiller." Dillon introduced the two men as the stood outside Kadence's door.

"Nice to meet you." Thaddeus held out his hand. "I'm glad to see the two of you together finally. I always thought there was something going on but knowing my Kady, it probably took her awhile to figure it out."

Dave shook Thaddeus's hand before moving to allow the Blankenbiller men to enter the room. He followed them in and shut the door behind them. He didn't want any of the hospital staff witnessing, what he was sure was going to be a very intimate moment between father and daughter. He would have left but he wasn't completely sure he trusted Kadence's dad and wanted to be there if she needed him.

Thaddeus moved to take the seat that Dave had occupied earlier. With tears in his eyes, he sat down next to the daughter he hadn't seen in over six years. Gently he took her hand in his, before reaching up to stroke her hair with his free hand. Dillon moved to stand by Dave as they watched Thaddeus try and control his emotions.

"Daddy?" Kadence asked as she slowly opened her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you baby girl. I wanted to make sure they were treating you okay." Thaddeus smiled at his daughter, tears spilling down his checks. Figuring Kadence was going to be okay, Dave motioned with his head for Dillon to follow him out of the room, giving father and daughter time alone.

"When you fell I thought I had lost you for good. I should never have handled the situation the way I did. I hope that someday you can forgive me. I thought I knew what was best for you but in the end all I did was lose you. I should never have pushed you to marry Craig, maybe then you wouldn't have fallen for that other man and gotten your heart broken. Without the wishful thinking, I should have still reached out to you once I heard what he did. I haven't forgiven myself for letting my pride get in the way. I want you to come home while you recover." After finishing his speech, Thaddeus looked into the eyes of his daughter. "I've missed too much of your life and I want to have you near again. Give us time to become close again."

"I would like that. I've missed you and mom." Tears filled Kadence's eyes as she started at the man who she had loved more than anything and who had nearly crushed her beyond repair. She was shocked that he was reaching out to her since he hated to admit he was wrong, but she was also thrilled. Maybe their relationship could still be repaired.

Glancing around the room, Kadence realized that Dave wasn't in the room with her. Worried that her dad had run him off, she tried to get out of bed. Feeling a sharp pain in her side, Kadence feel back with a cry. Upon hearing the cry, Dave rushed into the room to make sure she was okay. Tears of relief filled her eyes as she held out her hand to him. Dave moved to stand next to her on the other side of the bed. Thaddeus watched his daughter interact with the man that obviously loved her very much. Smiling to himself, Thaddeus realized he was happy. Getting out of his chair, Thaddeus quietly moved out of the room to find his son, leaving the couple behind.

--

Several hours later Kadence woke to find all three of the men in her room talking softly. Before opening her eyes, Kadence lay in bed letting a small smile play across her lips as she realized that, even though she was in a lot of pain, for once she was truly happy.

The End

**A/N: **_Yea! All done with the story. Hope that you guys enjoyed the story. Please remember to review. Thanks!_


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